Nearly 112 years after his death, Civil War infantryman Allan Day has gotten a new gravestone, thanks to a local Boy Scout project.

Day, born in October 1831, died Nov. 7, 1902, in Issaquah. He served in Co. K, 43rd Wisconsin Infantry in the Civil War. His stone over the years had turned a dark gray, and his information was illegible.

That has happened to most of the 18 gravestones of known Civil War veterans buried in Issaquah’s Hillside Cemetery. All of them need to be replaced.

Innovation in Issaquah is exemplified by a leading apparel manufacturer, a revolutionary process to transform garbage into fertilizer and a theater renowned for fostering Broadway-bound musicals.

Issaquah Chamber of Commerce and city leaders announced the Innovation in Issaquah honorees — apparel manufacturer SanMar, WISErg, a manufacturer of garbage-to-fertilizer harvesters, and the nonprofit Village Theatre — at a Jan. 24 ceremony and luncheon.

Leaders from the chamber and City Hall recognized the entrepreneurs’ accomplishments through the Innovation in Issaquah contest, a showcase for local businesses offering unique services. Honorees demonstrate innovation in product development, services, systems or strategies.

Puget Sound Energy residential electric customers planning to hit Issaquah stores early for Black Friday shopping can receive a free LED bulb from the utility provider.

The first 50 people in line at Best Buy and Fred Meyer can receive a 40-watt equivalent LED bulb. The energy-efficient bulb uses less energy than incandescent or compact fluorescent light bulbs, lasts years longer and is dimmable.

Shoppers deserve traffic solutions

There are two messy traffic jams that occur in Issaquah, primarily on busy weekend shopping days. With the arrival of the holiday shopping season, these locations will only get worse. While you may have others in mind, we think you’d agree these two are tops for driver annoyance.

Both spots are in the heart of shopping centers.

No. 1 honors go to the ingress/egress to Lake Sammamish Center near The Home Depot. The traffic signal and Interstate 90 Undercrossing help drivers move in and out of the area, but getting out of the parking lot from the south side is a lesson in frustration. Often the only option is to circle away from the exit and try again from a new angle. The only saving grace is that there are no pedestrians in the midst of this tangle of cars.

The intersection on Northwest Maple Street in the heart of the Issaquah Commons is the second-most hazardous traffic jam in town.

Seattle artist Leon White stands in the middle of Miracle Grow, his public art sculpture in the Issaquah Highlands. Last week, White spent 30 hours refurbishing the sculpture that was installed in 2005. By Christina Corrales-Toy

Issaquah drivers who frequent Northeast Park Drive may have noticed a colorful change to the public art structure that sits on the median across from the fire station.

Last week, the sculpture’s artist, Leon White, spent about 30 hours over a four-day period sprucing up the sculpture that was installed in 2005.

Miracle Grow consists of a grouping of individual steel sculptures with colored flowers accenting the top of each one.

White said the piece was inspired by the flowers in the garden of his Seattle home.

“When I was doing this series, I just happened to be looking at my garden, which has irises, and looking at the long, thin blades of irises and the green leaves, I thought how cool it would be if I took what is on an inch-scale and made it a foot-scale,” he said.

The longtime party store in the Issaquah Commons along Northwest Gilman Boulevard moved the celebration elsewhere last week to make way for Trader Joe’s.

Party @ Display & Costume settled in a space next to Best Buy in the same shopping center as Fred Meyer and The Home Depot along East Lake Sammamish Parkway Southeast. The relocated party store opened to customers May 31.

The 60-year-old company also operates stores in Everett and Seattle.

Party @ Display & Costume left a space at the Issaquah Commons near Lane Bryant and Ross Dress for Less to make room for a relocated Trader Joe’s.

The specialty grocer’s existing location in Pickering Place does not meet the 10,000-square-foot threshold for retailers to sell liquor, but the former party store space in the Issaquah Commons offers enough space.

City Council members inched closer to approval for a 2012 municipal budget Dec. 5, as the document cleared a crucial hurdle.

In a unanimous decision, council members directed staffers to prepare a 2012 spending plan. The council is due to adopt the plan Dec. 19.

“I think this is a fairly conservative budget,” Council President John Traeger said.

In October, Mayor Ava Frisinger sent to the council a $32 million general fund budget — dollars used to fund police and fire services, community development and planning, parks and recreation, and municipal government.

The process to form a 2012 budget started earlier, at a council goal-setting retreat in May. Officials outlined priorities for the year ahead and helped shape department chiefs’ spending proposals.